(Part 2) Best civil & environmental engineering books according to redditors
We found 955 Reddit comments discussing the best civil & environmental engineering books. We ranked the 453 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
Other comments here are spot on.
The simplistic version that underlies all of them is humans are smart so they can identify a problem and approach the desired solution iteratively. This creates a feedback loop.
Before "modern" (the mid to late 1800's onwards) machine tools, you had people making a lot of things custom every time using files to get parts to mate together. There are some exceptions to this with specific measurement and manufacturing tools that were conceived and used but they weren't in wide spread use before the Industrial Revolution and they didn't look as similar to today's machines as everything after. We humans are really good at tweaking stuff slightly until it is far beyond the precision of the individual pieces itself.
Similarly, if I took any old lathe or mill, measured my part to be 0.100" and needed it to be 0.050", I could dial a cut in at 0.05" and take it but depending on the quality and rigidity of the machine, workholding, bearing surfaces and tooling, I would be hard pressed to hit that 0.050" dead on. However, I could take as many passes I wanted while remeasuring until I'm happy with the result. Cut 0.020" off, measure again, I should have 0.030" left but I actually have 0.027" left. Cut again this time at 0.010" and I should have 0.017" left but I have 0.015" left etc.
As others mentioned, the 3 plate method allows you to generate with time and effort, a very precisely flat surface. I could generate that surface, use it as my surface referenced plate and then hand scrape a piece to match it's flatness and squareness to the best of my willingness to work on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_scraper if you're unfamiliar. The craftsman inks (blues) up a reference surface, imprints the work piece by rubbing it on that surface. Only the points in contact touch. Using a scraper and some training, you can remove .0002" with a scraper cut. Remove all of the high spots that are blue bringing the high spots closer to the average. Remark and do it again iteratively. Each time you bring your work surface closer to your reference.
The same thing was done with precision lead screws. Hand made screws were cut with primitive methods and put in early lathe like machines to cut more screws. These machines had error compensation methods built in that averaged the thread cutting across the original screw (or sometimes multiple screws) resulting in a screw that was more precise than what you started with.
For calibrating a reference surface for flatness, you can use levels or autocollimators for overall variations. The precision of your level can be increased by increasing the longitudinal radius of your glass bubble dial.
An excerpt from another post I made in /r/cnc:
Some source material to consider:
LINK A great site with collections of documents covering major works in the development of precision tools.
Precision Machine Design - Slocum more of a textbook on precision machine design but has tons of footnotes and talks about some of the developmental history.)
Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance talks about some of the accuracy needed in Oakridge etc to help make the atomic bomb and precision guided missiles before GPS existed even for the military. A number of military interests drove ultra precision development such as this and the large optical diamond turning maching (LODTM)
Rolling Bearings and their contribution to the progress of technology covers the history of bearings that allowed precision machinery.
Machine Tool Reconditioning is an older book and highly technical but is considered the bible for old machine tool rebuilding and goes into the processes of how one would make precision flat surfaces and check all of the geometry on their machines and fix them in a time before lasers and fancy computer controlled equipment.
Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy and the followup book Holes, Contours and Surfaces was written by Moore and his son (I believe, respectively), the first especially is considered a bible on the theory of obtaining super precision tolerances. The authors are part of Moore Tool Company which made amongst other machines Moore Jig Borers.
Mitutoyo has a pdf on the history of gauge blocks
You can further go down that rabbit hole and look at metrology books as one can achieve great tolerances by iteratively approaching a desired value and having proper metrology equipment to check your work as you go. For example, metrology standards
You can also look at old professional telescope building books and newer diy telescope making books as there's a lot of interesting information and techniques to obtain precision optics on the order of wavelengths of light.
As someone else here mentioned: How Round Is Your Circle
I can probably dig up a lot more. I've spent way to much money purchasing old out of print books related to precision machinery, machining and metrology.
From the iterative process of making basic tools, you can then use those tools to make even better tools through iteration. In many ways, it's similar to Moore's law in the electronics world; a exponential curve where we stand on the shoulder of giants and improve upon what already exists. Many have proposed technology as a whole as just that such as Ray Kurzweil in "The Singularity is Near" etc.
Edit: Thanks for the gold!
I'll just leave this here in case you're getting too much quality sleep at night.
We are horribly unprepared to deal with a cyber attack on our infrastructure and having worked in the industry I'm incredibly surprised it's taken this long.
A day doesn't meet my definition of "falling markets" More like a bearish reaction that will likely continue for a couple weeks. Of course some big foreign investors were going to sell with this news.
This wasn't intended to prop up the stock market, it was intended to shore up local supplies of steel and aluminum. Commodities that are critical during times of war and for building new power grid transformers after a successful cyber attack. See: https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Cyberattack-Unprepared-Surviving/dp/0553419986/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520004513&sr=8-1&keywords=lights+out+ted+koppel&dpID=41DkSSMGZrL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
It's not. "Man" is not a gender neutral term. It's a gender default. Insisting that "man" is a gender neutral term that can be used as a stand-in for any gender is like insisting that "red" is a color neutral term and that it can be used as a stand-in for any color. Is that dumb? Yes, obviously it is.
"Every man" as redundancy for "every person" is exactly the kind of shit that makes it harder for people who, you know, aren't men to be taken seriously by society. Because "man" is just the default. Everyone is just assumed to be a man, unless context forbids that it be a man, like if the person is a nurse or whatever.
This gender defaulting is just fucking stupid. Relevant book about this issue
This is a good read on some back story of the explotation of the boreal forests.
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Spruce-Story-Madness-Greed/dp/0393328643
Im a sophomore EE but I love books. Check out
Code
as well as classic physics books such as Theory of Relativity.
And a solid up to date formula handbook
and then specific books to your sub-field/concentration. I worked at a library and Barnes & Noble for a few years, and I highly suggest just living in the science department there when not at school and find books you love.
Like most people here have already said Halliday and Resnick are very good.
If you want something a bit more rigorous and thorough, I recommend An Introduction to Mechanics. We are using both these texts for my first year physics course.
For even more help there's MIT Lectures, complete with practice problems and tests, and Khan Academy.
All this should be more than enough to keep you busy until college.
FYI, CERM stands for Civil Engineering Reference Manual; I just realized I forgot to state that in the OP. I passed the first time I took the test. I strongly recommend signing up for the School of PE review course (if they offer a course for your field). Seriously, that course was worth. every. penny. I pretty much only needed the review course notes for the morning portion, and their afternoon review course was a life saver.
For the purpose of this explanation, let's use this phase diagram
http://www.nims.go.jp/cmsc/pst/database/al-elem/alli/alli_hal.jpg
I'll use this one because Al-Li systems have traditionally been used in airplanes. citation
anyway, the three steps to heat treating are as follows.
In the phase diagram listed, traditionally no more than ~2% Li has been used (due to adverse effects)
so lets go to where the x axis = 2% Li
If you see, you'll see something called alpha and beta phases. The alpha phase is on the very left and the beta is somewhat centered. Between the alpha and beta is a mixed phase, where both alpha and beta exist.
But let me explain the general steps:
-----------------
Solutionizing:
This is when you expose the material to high temperatures such that the temperature is in a single phase region. In the case of our Al-Li alloy, will be around 600K (327°C) - 700K (427°C), which is relatively low simply because it's an aluminum system. When the material is exposed to this temperature, it goes through a phase transformation such that the entire piece of metal is of a single phase, in this case, alpha. It is known as a solid solution of Aluminum and Lithium. This is homogenous.
Every material is different and requires different temperatures and times. For example, I solutionized a Ni-Ti sample of mine at 1000°C for an hour. It was a small ~1g sample.
In some sense, you can think of solutionizing as "resetting" the material- getting a blank slate from which you can do many different things.
--------------
Quenching:
By quenching the material, you don't allow any transformation to take place. Quenching "freezes" the microstructure in place and, in the case of our alloy, we will retain the alpha phase even though at 300K (on the phase diagram), we are in the alpha+beta regime.
-------------
Aging:
Aging is raising the temperature into the regime that you wish to have. Aging is a pretty complex thing to explain simply, but the jist of it is that by raising the temperature, you increase the diffusion and kinetics of the atoms in the system and allow the phase transformation to occur. So in the case of our Al-Li system, if we raise the temperature to... say... to 400K, aging will occur and eventually we will get alpha+beta. But not only this, aluminum alloys are usually multicomponent, so at the same time, precipitates may grow during this aging process. Even if there is not a phase transformation, precipitates will grow at elevated temperatures. These precipitates, assuming they don't get too large, will harden the material.
now, the amount of alpha+beta can be found by using something called a TTT curve:
http://aluminium.matter.org.uk/content/html/eng/default.asp?catid=35&pageid=766883503
TTT curves have time (x axis) and temperature (y axis) and they show how much of each phase you will have after certain times and temperatures. You have probably seen one in your work, since they are commonly used in industry.
There are entire classes dedicated to this stuff. Mine was called "phase transformations"
if you want to know more, I HIGHLY recommend a book called "Phase trasnformations in metals and alloys" which goes through the what, the how, and the why.
http://www.amazon.com/Transformations-Metals-Edition-Revised-Reprint/dp/1420062107
---------
I wrote a bit, mostly on phase transformations, but sort of ignored the precipitation part.
Precipitation in aluminum alloys comes from some added metals (magnesium, Copper, etc) that you add into the alloy. When you heat the metal, these metals will combine to form hard precipitates that block dislocation motion, which is what strengthens the material.
I'm of the opinion that the only thing that works with these big companies is to address the bottom line. i.e. women are 52% of the population and ignoring them has a detrimental effect on profits, especially given women actually earn and spend money these days. So, to give examples, why should half a company's potential customers buy products that:
Have a health app embedded that forgets that they menstruate or may want to track fertility? (Yes I'm looking at you Apple)
Develop new and improved phones that are too big for women to use efficiently?
Code their booking systems to assume anyone using the title Dr must be male?
Code their systems to assume that any female customer automatically changes name when married?
Code their systems to assume the male at any given address is the head of household?
​
Get them to realise this simple point and you open the way to expect women to be included in every step of the process, from design, to implementation to marketing.
​
I recommend Caroline Criado-Perez's new book "Invisible-Women-Exposing-World-DesignedMen "for a primer on women and data https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Women-Exposing-World-Designed/dp/1784741728/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Caroline+Criado-Perez&qid=1554290907&s=gateway&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Structural-Engineering-Reference-Manual-8th/dp/1591264960
It took me a few months to get the hang of what I look for. It's still hard for me to describe what I look for, but it's mostly small press (books they only printed a few of) and also very specific non-fiction books.
Like recently, I sold a cookbook for hyperactive children from 1979 for $35. If I look at textbooks, it's usually ones with very specific or rare subjects, like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1420062107 which I sold recently as well.
I don't just look for hardcovers or books that are in good condition. For me, it's all about subject matter. Paperbacks do just as well, as long as it's got information someone wants to read about. I've sold many discolored and loosely bound paged books, and haven't gotten a complaint because I mention everything wrong in the description.
It's so random when the books sell. I've had books sitting since I started, or I can sell a book the day I got it. I always try to make sure it's the cheapest or second cheapest on Amazon so that it will sell quicker.
I've only been doing it a few months, and it took a lot of trial and error, but it's become a lot easier for me to spot a book that may be worth a little something. Having a smart phone and the Amazon app helps, too. If it doesn't have a UPC code, I'll type the title into the app just so I don't have to lug every book home. Also having a Goodwill Outlet that charges 25 cents by the pound for books helps as well.
I took it in October 2012 which was the first opportunity I could take it when I gained enough experience to qualify. But you're not alone though. I teach at a PE Exam Review class and I always have older folks in the class (40s and 50s+) and those who are still young and have been eligible to take the exam for several years who are just now getting ready to take the exam. Check out the NCEES Exam Specifications to see the types of topics you can expect to see on the exam and to help you figure out which one might be best for you. And if you want to get a jump start on studying for the October exam, pick up a copy of the CERM on Amazon and start spending some time with it to start brushing up on old topics. Review classes are good too and there are several out there.
I took the Structures focus for the PE exam, I can't recommend for you an exact prep schedule, but I can tell you mine.
I studied for a total of 500 hours at 40hrs/wk took approximately 3 months or so. 200 hrs of prep for the PE exam itself and 150 hrs each for the Survey and Seismic portions.
I prepared using the CERM, PPI Sample problems, NCEES Sample Exams, and the following:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1888577940/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591261007/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591263786/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Did I over do it? Without a doubt I over did it. But I can also say that I rolled up on the test, took a dump on its front lawn and lit it on fire. I also managed to finish so quickly that I took a bit of a nap during the NCEES exam. I was however working up to the last minute on the Survey and Seismic portions. Those sections weren't hard, you just need to manage your time well and you will be fine.
When you do walk into the exam, you will see people with half-pallet carts filled with reference materials. You will not need that many books, you only really need your CERM, applicable code manuals, as well as a rapid reference note binder that you compile yourself. I flew in to California to take it, and all my reference materials fit into a back pack and a carry on suitcase.
I also, took a review course offered at the local university, go to every class and never skip!
Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, best of luck!
The Civilized Engineer, by Samuel Florman. This isn't a technical book, but it teaches the importance of looking at the big picture, of being ethical, of the need to expand your skills beyond the purely technical.
Ok, here's a list of books that might interest you.
Alex Slocum's Fundamentals course from MIT. it has videos as well as lecture materials. FUNdaMENTALS
His book on engineering design is also my go to for a lot of design. precision machine design
When you bend it, the paper is no longer just bending along its width. It's actually loaded in compression and tension. Note the spacing between the marks on the inside and outside of that bend. When it's bent, the areas at the top of the paper are pulled (tension), and the bottom side is compressed. Pull on a piece of paper and notice how hard it is to pull it apart (without shearing, that is, tearing the paper, or a stress concentrator like a small rip). This shows the paper's comparatively much greater tensile strength compared to its rigidity. You can see the same effect when the paper's on its side, though it'll want to flop around there because of that low rigidity.
A similar thing happens in building materials. Take, for example, a piece of sheet metal. You can hold it out and it flexes quite a bit. But when you fold that metal into a box or an H shape, it's a pretty rigid member. There are formulas you can use to model this, and it's a big part of what civil and mechanical engineers do. By increasing the thickness of a structural member relative to its length, you decrease the amount of bending.
If you want to do more reading, any solid mechanics textbook will have a section of beam bending. I'm a fan of Beer's Mechanics of Materials, but there are plenty of others. Your local library likely has something, or if not, you can find more about the math behind when things will and won't bend on Wikipedia
Statics and dynamics by beer etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Vector-Mechanics-Engineers-Statics-Dynamics/dp/0073398136/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107608&sr=1-5
mechanics of materials also by beer etc
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Materials-Ferdinand-Beer/dp/0073380288/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107608&sr=1-2
Shigleys mechanical engineering design
http://www.amazon.com/Shigleys-Mechanical-Engineering-Design-McGraw-Hill/dp/0073529281/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426107693&sr=1-2&keywords=shigleys
fluid mechanics by white
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Student-McGraw-Hill-Mechanical-Engineering/dp/0077422414/ref=pd_sim_b_45?ie=UTF8&refRID=1598FBBBQ7NSWR5MKF90
Heat and mass transfer
http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Mass-Transfer-Fundamentals-Applications/dp/0077366646/ref=pd_sim_b_64?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QG596EKX9F6S2T3F32G
Thermo
http://www.amazon.com/Thermodynamics-Engineering-Approach-Student-Resources/dp/0077366743/ref=pd_sim_b_86?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NW57Y2JVW3AGSH3R3ZP
kinematics
http://www.amazon.com/Machinery-Resource-McGraw-Hill-Mechanical-Engineering/dp/007742171X/ref=pd_sim_b_31?ie=UTF8&refRID=09FEZCGH0P7QAK3KFHR1
Vibrations
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Vibrations-5th-Edition-Singiresu/dp/0132128195/ref=pd_sim_b_79?ie=UTF8&refRID=16QXABYHM8AZS8AEYQ2M
these were at least some of the books my school used. I also hated most of these books.
> BTW, that wiki song structure article is a mess
Agreed. I linked to that wiki article without even really looking. Personally, I like the following books that go into a lot more detail in regards to production and EDM:
All the above are solid books.
You might enjoy Lights Out by Ted Koppel.
Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer by Incropera is pretty much the standard text on the subject by my understanding.
I used Hibbeler for Mechanics of Materials, but Beer is also a popular choice.
Hibbeler for dynamics as well.
Larson has a pretty good calculus book, will take you from derivatives up through multivariable.
A good resource if you feel like digging deeper is the physics forums - science and math textbook forum.
You are talking mostly about stuff that is covered in a Mechanics of Materials class. This is the book I learned from, but any mechanics of materials book will do. Question (b) is covered in a Machine Design class, so pick up a machine design textbook if you want the theory. If you just want to know which fastener to use I would just pick up this puppy, it has everything you need.
http://www.amazon.com/Surveying-Principles-Civil-Engineers-2nd/dp/1888577940/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453821432&sr=1-1&keywords=Surveying+Principles+for+Civil+Engineers
The SERM has a pretty decent introductory section.
Get yourself a student edition of some Autodesk products - AutoCad and Inventor at the least - to practice CAD and drafting skills.
Some books about Mech Eng specifically:
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Mechanical-Devices-Sourcebook-Edition/dp/0071704426
http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Machines-How-They-Work/dp/0486217094
http://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Formulas-Kurt-Gieck/dp/0071457747
http://www.amazon.com/507-Mechanical-Movements-Mechanisms-Devices/dp/0486443604
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Engineering-Principles-John-Bird/dp/0415517850
Don't forget about basic electricity, electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics too.
Get some hands-on experience with machine tools such as lathes and mills. Learn how to program CNC machines using G-code. Try to land a summer job at a factory or assembly plant for the experience. Learn how to make metal castings by watching some YouTube videos and visiting a local foundry.
Find some local ASME members to network with and seek a mentor. ASME also offers a limited free membership to college freshmen.
For the record, Canada's old-growth forests are disappearing staggeringly fast. You should read The Golden Spruce for a first-hand account of the logging industry in British Columbia. Most of it is gone, and what is left is in once inaccessible areas (such as the Queen Charlotte Islands, or rocky coastal areas) that is already being slated for logging.
I have absolutely no idea why you are criticizing the national park system in the U.S. I am a native Washingtonian and the fact that much of the old-growth forests will forever be protected in my nearby Mt. Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Olympic National Park (a very large percentage of the state) is something to be extremely proud of. I really think that the fact that Canada has fewer national parks than the U.S. is unfortunate.
I also just saw this recently after never really hearing of it growing up. Weird. Anyway, respect; I really enjoyed this movie and think it's still an important message to this day.
Would you like to know more?
Thanks, my main interest seems to lie in petrology/lithology, mostly of sedimentary rocks at the moment, so I've been eyeing up a copy of Sedminetary Rocks in the Field once I have some spare cash. =)
SME Handbook
Hartman Book
Used both while getting my Mining Engineering degree. They are both really great for what you want but I would go with the Hartman Book. It's cheaper and does just as well.
A book about the history of fraud, treachery and thieves in the industry can be found here:A hole in the ground with a liar at the top
There's also another title that tells more stories about the workers in artisan diamond mining: Diamond a journey into the heart of an obsession
As far as books that get more technical, Introductory Mining Engineering would be a good start.
If the business and economics are more what you're interested in, a quick google search for "mining white papers" should yield a whole pile of results. Most of them being written by some consulting houses such as E&Y, KPMG, McKinsey, et al.
Let me know more what you're looking for. Mining Engineer here who loves to read. =)
by Martyn J. Fogg
Google will get you the rest. Enjoy!
I loved learning newtonian mechanics from Kleppner and Kolenkow link. The problems are creative and interesting, which is something that a lot of mechanics books seem to lack.
This book is really great for mixing. Currently making my way through it. It is very dense and thorough
This book has been recommended to me a lot for mastering. A very good producer told me this was the standard for wanting to learn proper mastering techniques. I haven’t read it yet
I don't think this is quite what you're looking for, but I love this as a reference guide for sed deposits. Not a bad price point for a full colour guide. https://www.amazon.com/Sedimentary-Rocks-Field-Colour-Guide/dp/1874545693
Seems like you want to know more about feminism and gender equality. I suggest you read this book called 'Invisible Women'. A very clear and fact driven book about how it's really a man's world.
The below books are what I used for lots of practice problems (I am Civil Transpo based), I did practiced timed tests for both AM and PM. I also changed the same problems to solve for the opposite it was asking, to try and match any variation the PE can throw at you. They were very helpful and about the right difficulty.
a) Civil Engineering PE Practice Exams: 2 Full Breadth Exams
b) Mike's Civil PE Exam Guide: Morning Session
c) Civil PE Practice Exam: Breadth Exam Version B
d) Transportation Depth Practice Exams for the Civil PE Exam
you’re probably very adequately prepared to take on a materials science degree, however is it simply materials science or materials science engineering? if so you might want to expand on your math a bit: linear algebra, differential equations, multivariable calc, vector calc. not sure of what chem majors do in undergrad but i think you are only required to complete single variable calc, correct me if i’m wrong.
you’ve probably taken physics as well, but it would be a pretty good idea to look at a course on strength of materials it’s a bit more math/mechanically engineering inclined but it gives a pretty good understanding of how the chemistry of a material affects its detectable physical characteristics (why concrete is good in compression and not tension? why do plastics experience creep? why are carbon fibers oriented a certain way? etc)
you can probably find an older edition of that textbook in pdf, it’s the one i used in undergrad and it was pretty great!
This: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 14th Ed https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591264537/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Uf.8Bb9FD6EV1
As well as my notes from the review class I took. Since I had been out of school 15 years when I decided to take the exam, I took a 10 month class before the test. I have several binders of lecture notes and homework.
If you want the bible of precision machine design:
https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Machine-Design-Alexander-Slocum/dp/0872634922
It's essentially the graduate level compliment of Shigley's that /u/leafjerky recommended.
Saw this post on /r/backpacking earlier today. In the thread someone mentioned this book, The Golden Spruce, about the of the area. I'm looking forward to reading it. I bet it will interest some of you too.
Great pics anvilman! I'm gonna have to make the trip up there some day!
Required reading for my intro to civil class. http://www.amazon.com/The-Civilized-Engineer-Samuel-Florman/dp/0312025599
I think you are after something along the lines of Porter, Easterling, and Sherif. This book bridges thermodynamics and "pure" solidification theory pretty well.
I mean this one.
guitarrr: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link
I am surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet:
Angels Don't Play This HAARP - http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0964881209/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1374336059&sr=8-1&pi=SL75
The author, Nick Begich's brother, Mark Begich ended up becoming Senator of Alaska for some time. Side note, I went to the same highschool they did; granted many years apart.
I took these exams back in October '15 (along with the PE) and passed all of them.
For me the Hiner course was a lifesaver for the seismic portion. I had zero experience with the content in the seismic exam but Hiner's course had me very well prepared for the exam.
Survey exam was far easier in my opinion. Just grab a practice problem book and brush up on whatever is rusty. FYI: the Cuomo Surveying Principles book goes into way more detail than the exam does.
Good luck!
I also recommend Precision Machine Design by Alexander Slocum
It's not a purely mechanical orientated book but I have found the Gieck Engineering Formulas book to be quite useful and it doesn't go off the rails with any differential calculus.
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0071457747)
It also is an actual handbook you can carry with you; if anyone on here has seen the Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook in the flesh you will understand.
I am surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet:
Angels Don't Play This HAARP - http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0964881209/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1374336059&sr=8-1&pi=SL75
The author, Nick Begich's brother, Mark Begich ended up becoming Senator of Alaska for some time. Side note, I went to the same highschool they did; granted many years apart.
Civil PE Practice has online practice questions as well as a hard copy book on Amazon with really good reviews. Has anyone used them?
It's the best I can do.
I recommend reading books. I personally work a very difficult engineering job, where I'm under-educated for the tasks I'm given (it's a startup company). So I just keep buying books, and read them constantly. 30 minute carpool? Flip through a textbook and see what catches my eye. I think it's important to find it interesting, otherwise it would become unbearable to study that much, after college. I have a total hard-on for engineering, so I get excited about a textbook I just ordered on Amazon from my own paycheck, and can't wait for it to show up.
Engineering Formulas
Engineer to Win
Aircraft Structures
These are a handful of examples of books I just pick up and browse through regularly. "Engineering Formulas" is very dense obviously, I just flip through it randomly, and go "ohhhhh yeah yeah, I forgot about that equation/concept from school", which prompts me to hit up Wikipedia (please donate!), then maybe buy a related book. "Engineer to Win" is geared towards race car engineering, but it's 90% structures/bolts/metallurgy, and I apply nearly all of it into aerospace easily. It's a GREAT read too, the guy is a salty old bastard that swears mid-paragraph during a technical explanation, I find it hilarious.
Thanks, I'm actually currently reading Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices, and Tools.
Any feedback on what I could do to improve the mix? Did anything sound off in particular?
Well, the guy was not a real pro...
Like I said, it seems that you look more for feedback than for learning anything - there are enough free resources out there to learn anything.
Tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjOdqZFvhY like this - it looks cheesy, but is most informative full course on youtube
Channels of plugin companies like Fab filter, Waves, Izotope etc.
Many genre producers have posted breakdowns of their tracks on youtube...
I suggest getting some stems of released tracks and analysing them.
https://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Audio-Concepts-Practices-Tools/dp/1138859788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540366561&sr=1-1&keywords=mixing+audio&dpID=41e%252BBcVrTZL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Btw, for the price of something like a berklee course you can get an album mixed in a "pro" studio (considering that you are noone, they shouldn't charge much - something like 100 usd per song).
I suggest focusing on the your music, you will get more from a composition course - see Avicii's early tracks were dogshit in terms of mixing, but they were good musically and later he could afford way better mixing engineers to do all the technical work. (From what I've heard, even the best mix won't get your posted songs to become excellent.)
BTW, many EDM songs are just layers upong layers of compression to get it loud, which is considered a bad mix. If you just want to get loud, learn more about limiters, multiband compression and clippers, and saturation.
Hah, well there's a loaded tag.
I have no idea what happened to him/her, but I'm happy to have lent some input.
For the record I'm no expert, just a space nerd that reads a lot :-p
If you're curious to read more I'd recommend either Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments for nonfiction, or Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy for really well-researched and realistic science fiction.
Try Nick Begich Jr.'s book (yes, the brother of the Senator).
There's an awesome, down to earth explanation of this in the mechanics book by Kleppner and Kolenkow. I really recommend checking it out if you have access to it at a library, etc.
Begich's diploma was from a shady place, but he openly says it's an honorary degree. It doesn't effect that he does great research and has the primary source documents of what he cites. I feel he should have not accepted the degree, as it's something "debunkers" can point at- albeit the only thing. He's an activist and has been called to testify about HAARP before the European Parliament.
I linked to a video of his here a few days ago, where he does cite and source all this material, but it didn't get much of a response.
It's really worth checking out. Bernard Eastlund, the scientist behind a lot of the HAARP technology, even teamed up with Begich at one point because he had concerns about how the tech would be used.
Here's a link to his book that the documentary below is based on. Check out the user reviews to see what it's all about.
http://www.amazon.com/Angels-Dont-Play-This-Haarp/dp/0964881209
Documentary covering material in book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLZcaItj70U
(1) [This book(http://www.amazon.com/The-Civilized-Engineer-Samuel-Florman/dp/0312025599)
(2) Beer
(3) Best of all - 1 and 2.
what books specifically for physics and analytical chem?
had to buy this book
which i paid 190 for and the cheapest online i could find was 230 without shipping. Just an example
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Materials-Ferdinand-Beer/dp/0073380288
I do highly recommend Genome by Matt Ridley and A History of God by Karen Armstrong. It looks like Before the Big Bang might be a great idea too.
However, I'm noticing a bit of redundancy in your stacks and don't want you to get bored! In the presence of the other books, I would recommend Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale in lieu of The Greatest Show on Earth. (Although, if you're actually not going to read all the other books, I would actually go the other way.) Similarly, I would probably choose either to read the God Delusion or a few of the other books there.
Other recommendations: how about The Red Queen by Matt Ridley, and The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes? These occupy niches not covered by the others.
The popular expositions on cosmology all look supremely awesome, but you should probably choose half of them. Another idea: read just The Fabric of the Cosmos by Greene, and if you love it, go ahead and learn mechanics, vector calculus, Electrodynamics, linear algebra, and Quantum Mechanics! Hmm...on second thought, that might actually take longer than just reading those books :)
https://www.amazon.com.au/Engineering-Mechanics-Statics-Mastering/dp/0133362019
https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Mechanics-Dynamics-Anthony-Bedford/dp/0136129161
https://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Materials-7th-Ferdinand-Beer/dp/0073398233
I have not read this book, but I remember seeing it on the shelf of the science library at college. And it has a chapter about Venus!
Terraforming: Engineering Planetary Environments
I recommend this book about terraforming: http://www.amazon.com/Terraforming-Engineering-Environments-Martyn-Fogg/dp/1560916095
Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys if you want to know the thermodynamic reasons why different alloys have different properties
Check out what your local university or college has listed for their physical geology text book(s), visit their book store and see if they fit the bill. A very useful book for identification, surprisingly, can be in the form of a lab book as well. If those are too costly, perhaps they would make a good future investment or you can find them online as pdf's, or e-books. In the mean time, there are also plenty of field guides, for example that may interest you, or even that you can print out (pdf) for basic identification.
I took the exam last Spring and failed it. Before I took it I studied the CERM and Lindeberg's practice problems. I didn't even have the NCEES practice exam in-hand until about a week before the exam, which was my biggest mistake. I was spending so much time tangled up the in the weeds that the Lindeberg materials lead you to believe you'll have to know, that I lost sight of the big picture.
Fast forward to today, this time I am studying FOR the exam (studying to pass the exam only, and not know everything the CERM has to say). I bought every practice exam I could get my hands on. NCEES, PE Prepared (WR Versions A and B, Breadths A, B, and C), Civil PE Practice Exams, and Goswami. Work through them all, use them as a bank of practice problems. Then do them all again. These practice exams will focus your studying in areas you need to know, and you'll get to know those areas of the CERM extremely well. There's a quality to the quantity of practice problems you do. Good luck!
Ted Koppel wrote a book on cybersecurity on the vulnerability of our power grid. It's not a fun read.
https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Cyberattack-Unprepared-Surviving/dp/0553419986
All of these books by Samuel C. Florman are great in their own right, but will really click with an engineer with a more artistic mindset.
The Existential Pleasures of Engineering
Engineering and the Liberal Arts
The Introspective Engineer
The Civilized Engineer
Of course. Have you ever read Silent Spring?
Botany of Desire
One River
Silent Spring
Basin and Range or most anything by John McPhee
Cadillac Desert